stephsbooktalk's Reviews (915)

Thank you so much to Sourcebook Casablanca for an advance copy of the book!
Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media for an advance copy of the book!

This will be published on August 15th.

Timothy Janovsky has become an auto-buy author in the last year and this was is by far my favorite of the 3! This was such a bingeable read & I kept wanting to read to find out what was going to happen to Nolan.

I just enjoyed this so much so I apologize if my thoughts are all jumbled.
This book just made me so happy!

"Life is a series of in-the-moment choices, snowballing into an always uncertain future."

I love how Janovsky let the story marinate for awhile and then bam the time jump happened. I always am not a fan of when an author doesn't let things build or let the reader get to know the characters before changing everything. 

Even though romance was a main theme in this book, there was also such a focus on family & the importance of how one decision could change everything.  Another theme is the career/life balance. Nolan is 23, so very young and still trying to figure things out. I love the reference to Britney Spears' "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet a Woman" and it definitely describes him perfectly.  He has this strain relationship with his family due to his commitment to his career and could not see it at all. I felt for them all especially when he chooses an opportunity over an important milestone for his sister. Fast forward to when he is 30 and re-building his relationship with his parents & sister, it was such a beautiful journey to see. I like that it was not perfect and that it didn't wrap up so quickly but that is was a progression.

Also hot take. The real villain of this story is Jessie errr Jessalynn. That's all I'll say.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask.
"Just that I forgot how much I missed knowing you."

Protect Drew Techler at all cost. Drew was such a sweet soul . I just loved his quiet & calm personality juxtaposed to Nolan's more bold and outgoing personality.  There was such a sweet moment at Nolan's sisters wedding when he confessed his feelings that just made me swoon. Of course I was also swooning at the second wedding as well!  You could just tell how much he cared about Nolan from the beginning. He just was always there for Nolan and Nolan trusted him so much. I love that we got to also learn about their history before the present day and how there always have been a spark between them.

This book doesn't follow the same formula as other romances typical do as there was a break up in the first half in addition to another conflict later on. I do not like it when authors give the characters unnecessary conflicts, but in this case it made sense.  I was so happy that Janovsky had Nolan tell Drew the truth of everything and it wasn't hidden. Everything was out on the line and you could tell Nolan just really wanted to fix not only his relationship with Drew but all the other relationships in his life.

"Home always holds the answers."

The book just made me very happy & there was several times where I was smiling and laughing at Nolan's monologues. I also appreciated Timothy's open dialogue of recreational drugs.

There is just something wholesome by the way Timothy writes. I just love the whole premises of the book and thought having the MMC being a stand up comedian was so refreshing. Also the addition of the crystals was such a fun element. I am not familiar with the benefits of the use of crystals but very open to it! The way he wrote about Nolan's dad just made my heart melt and the care of an aging parent is just such a sad and apart of life.

I paired my reading on my kindle with listening to the audio. Mark Sanderlin did a FABULOUS job with this book! I felt that his voice went with Nolan and that he totally became him. I love that he has done all of Timothy's other books & hope he continues.

If you are a fan of "13 Going on 30" & even elements of "A Christmas Carol" but make it queer, this is your book!

#DoopThereItIs

I am very excited to read his next romance in 2024! 

Swoon Meter: 10/10
Karaoke: No

Mini Book Review: Thank you so much to a local indie store for an advance copy of the book!
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary audio!

This book is out now.

"Are you sure he is handsome and not simply very tall? I have often noticed the two are confused."

I am so proud of myself. I made it through a historical romance and I actually enjoyed it!

Do I see myself reading more of these? I think so! 
Did I fully understood what was happening? More times than not. 
Could I do it solely just with audio or by reading? Nope! I think I need to do them in tandem. 

This definitely had moments where I was laughing out loud. I love the relationship between Eliza and Margaret. They were such a pair and I was happy that Eliza had Margaret there with her through her year of mourning. 

I love how independent Eliza became after her husband died. She knew she what she was looking for in a partner & knew the kind of life she didn't want. 

I know most people do not love the love triangle trope but I actually didn't mind it. At least in the couple that I've read it has been enjoyable. I definitely was leaning towards one of the gentlemen but then by the end my thoughts on him changed. 

I had not read the first book in this but I believe it can be read as a stand alone. 

If you are a fan of historical romances, I would add this one to your TBR! 

Mini Audiobook Review: Thank you so much to Libro FM & Hachette Audio for an advance copy of the audio!
Thank you to Fable & Kemi & Busayo for an advance ebook copy!
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for a free copy of the book!

This book will be published on August 1st.

This is likely going to be one of the hottest, buzziest books for the summer! 

I will say, if you are not hooked from the first chapter then I don't know! I thought the first chapter was absolutely brilliant. I have been expressing those who I've talked to about this how much I loved the chapter. It set the tone & the anger that comes with the rest of the book. 

I definitely was saying some choice words for Matt especially towards the end. As men do, there is a hypocrisy that he could have a mistress, send explicit images of himself and yet she could not do the same. I was so glad that she stood her ground and would not fall in line to his demands. And then you had Nathan who was the complete opposite and just admires everything about Rachel. 

My only critique would be is that I wanted more spicy scenes because of how how Rachel & Nathan are. When they happened, it was great but I was just wanting a little more clandestine meet ups. 

The audio was a super quick listen and if work hadn't gotten in the way I probably would have binged it in a day. I thought the narrator Mela Lee did a wonderful job as Rachel and gave her such a seductive tone.  The book itself is only 304 so definitely a super bingeable read. And I think having it be a shorter book was just enough to give us everything we could want. 

Mini Audiobook Review:  This book was necessarily on my current radar for this month but it was a monthly book club pick of a new club that I joined so I had to check it out! 

This story was definitely an interesting one and I was sucked into the audio of it. I thought the pacing moved quickly. I thought it was interesting to have the FMC be childhood friends/neighbors with the first child that was killed and then just felt that connection to when the new case of a missing child comes about. 

I have never heard of Ashley Flowers nor knew that she was a podcast host. I would be curious if those who do listen to her could hear her voice throughout this book and if it was similar to the podcast. 

During our book club discussion, some of us felt that there was such a strong connection to the 90s case of JonBenet Ramsey. So I would be curious to know if the writer & ghostwriter used that story as inspiration. 

This was not my favorite thriller this year but wasn't my worst. It kept me engaged and I wanted to know the ending. 

I think if you are a fan of thrillers, unreliable characters & twists until the end - check this out! 

Mini Audiobook Review - 
This has been a hot book to read in the bookstagram world & I can totally see why! This was such a great debut from Jakobson and I'm looking forward to see what else they have. 

This was such a fresh tale of a current young adult in college who is still learning who they are. I know I haven't been in college for many, many years but I felt like it was pretty accurate of the lives of college kids now. 

I will say that there were a few times where I didn't realize we were in a flashback and I believe the point of view was as if Sav was writing to her friend?  Perhaps if I had the text it would make even more sense in the beginning. But once I picked up that it was a flashback, I was fine (you could tell pretty early on in the chapter that it was).  Knowing what we find out by the end, it make sense as to why she was talking to her friend. 

The narrator Jenna Kray did such a great job with Savannah. She had such a youthful tone and even with the flashbacks it worked well. 

I love the representation that Jakobson included in this and I could imagine those who are bisexual definitely could see themselves in Sav's internal monologue. 

This is not a romance so if you are looking to be transported back to college and love an adult coming of age, consider checking this out! 

Mini Audiobook Review: Thank you so much to Bibliostyle & Mariner books for the free copy of the book! 

I paired my physical copy of the book with my libby audio and it was such a wonderful experience! Having the book there especially in the beginning definitely helped with keeping the characters straight. 

This is a multigenerational book was told from 3 POV from 3 different timelines - Ann, Huong and Minh. I was the most fascinated by Ann's POV perhaps because it was the current time and I just was invested in her frustrating relationship with her boyfriend Noah. We learned the history and struggled of Ann's grandmother and then her mother. 

I was sucked into each of their stories and how decisions that they make trickles down to the generations. I am not sure what it was about this book or perhaps it was the way Thai wrote but I was just so invested and sucked into the story. The last 25% was really strong and secrets unraveled which had me SHOOK.  As most mother-daughter relationship, Minh's relationship with Huong is rocky and in turn Huong's relationship with Ann is rocky. It was beautiful to see Ann and Huong come together to grieve the passing of Minh and connect on a new level as adults. 

I wanted the best for Ann & Huong and I really hope with the passing of Minh they can find that happiness. 

I think you are a family of family dramas, multigenerational, multi point of views & flashbacks with a dash of romance & mystery - definitely check this out! 

Thank you so much to Penguin Kids for the free copy of Starfish!

I had been wanting to read this book for awhile and finally made the time to read & listen to the story. And wow! This is definitely a book that I wish existed when I was in my tween years maybe even elder elementary. It just broke my heart.

The narrator Jenna Lamia bought such an innocence to the narration and it felt like a young girl's voice. Bravo!

Even if my experience as a fat kid wasn't the same as Ellie. There was internal dialogue and experiences that I heavily related to. And what is even sadder(?) is that even as a mid 30 adult these thoughts still go through my brain. In the story Ellie's mom is pressuring her to have surgery as an eleven year old which I have gone through similar conversations with my mom about it as an adult. Which it is so wild that these experiences run parallel as an adult.

What made this book also stand out is that this was written in verse. It flowed so beautiful and easy to get the full picture of the story in verse. There were so many passages that I felt to my core but here is a brief passage that really stood out. For context Ellie is doing research at her library on the way that society changed over the years.

"With the help of our librarian, Mrs. Pochon, 
I find reliable sources on the internet and 
books of photos of painting and sculptures 
from a hundred to a thousand years ago. 
They're from cultures around the world 
and show girls with 
rolls and curves. 

Girls like me. 

I learn big girls, 
even obese ones, 
were once seen as 
normal, 
preferred, 
beautiful. 

I can't imagine a world so...
safe."

Thank you so much to Libro.FM for the advance copy of the audio!

This book will be published on August 1st.

Sigh. 

This was such a letdown. I had read one of Elizabeth's prior YA books and really enjoyed but this one just really fell flat. I probably should have DNF it but I just never do that in hopes that something will change. In this case, it did not. 

The only storyline I somewhat was able to follow was of the character who had trouble with fertility and miscarriages. Perhaps because of my connection made that storyline stand out the most? But honestly I could not tell who from who and what storyline belong to whom. I am not sure if I had not done the audio, if my experience reading it would be better? Though I have spoken to a few people and they had similar issues even while reading. 

Elizabeth has a narrator is great! The other book I've read by her was also by audio and she narrated. She has such a great tone and richness in how she speaks. And because its her writing I think she has a way to connect to the text. 

This did not work for me but perhaps it will work for you. 

Mini Audiobook Review - Thank you so much to MacMillan for the advance copy of this! 

Gahhh I wanted to like this one more! I was such a fan of Slaughter's prior book Bet On It that I was looking forward to this one. It just didn't grab me as much as the last one did. The concept overall was great - a sole winner of a lottery ticket worth $212 million. I did not read the synopsis before hand so I actually thought she was going to have a relationship with the accountant that she worked with.  

I didn't even mind that this was a second chance romance but what threw me was that she had been married for 8 years but never had any other relationship but wasn't with her husband?! That is a long time to be hanging onto that relationship. And that what also didn't work for me was that he was still interested after all this time when once again there was never any kind of communication? Why did he suddenly want to win her back?!  People do change after a year so after 8 years I imagine there was even more of a growth from the two of them.  Perhaps if they had already divorced or even wasn't married but just broke up and got back together, I would've been more invested? 

I did like that we got to see Aja and Walker for a brief moment. 

I will continue to check out Jodie's releases but this one just wasn't for me this time. 

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for an advance copy!
Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for an advance copy!

This book will be published on August 8th.

This is my 3rd summer of reading a Megan book and truly I am on a ride each and every time! I was HOOKED into this story from the moment I started reading it. I knew Goldin was going to take me on a ride.

"Always know what you're walking into. Dark corners can be danger points."

This book had 3 different point of views and each were very distinguished. You had the present day, Thomas McCoy and the podcast. Each would rotate in quick short chapters (which also made this book very bingeable) that just kept you wanting more.

Rachel Krall is such a force and I absolutely love her character so much! She has such boss girl energy that you can't help but root for her in all cases. She really puts herself deep into the crimes & you never know if she is going to make it out but somehow she does. She has such a way with people that people end up just spilling the beans - intentionally and unintentionally.

Goldin did such a wonderful job writing Thomas McCoy's character. As a reader, you could tell that something was just off about him but not quite sure what.  Same for Terence Bailey - the man who has been in jail for years & was about to be released but also could be a killer that would be set free. Thriller writers have a tendency to make characters unreliable so you just don't know who you should be trusting. Pretty much everyone gets a side eye from me until the end.

"Burnout is high in the world of influencers."

I think those in the bookstagram/booktok world would enjoy this because of the connection it has to community. There is a storyline that focuses on content creators and the pressure to constantly be feeding content to the public and that image is everything. Granted I am not at the level that is described in the book, I still felt some of the things mentioned were relatable in my micro influencer life. 

One storyline that I was unsure about is her relationship to Agent Martinez. Of course I want Rachel to have love in her life but I really hope this relationship continues into the next book otherwise I'm not sure if it served a purpose. If it doesn't continue, I think having it be a Florida fling would have been better. But we shall see! I truly hope it continues because they had great chemistry and because they could understand each other due to having parallel professions. 

With that being said above, I truly hope Goldin has more Rachel books planned! I truly enjoy reading how she intertwines her life & uses her knowledge and skills to get to the bottom of crimes. 

If you enjoy a podcast element in thrillers, a bad-a$$ podcast host, influencer tie in and a down to the wire chase - give this. read! Perfect for a day at the pool!